Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) Short Interest Down 14.2% in May

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 977,600 shares, a decline of 14.2% from the April 30th total of 1,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 519,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Marten Transport from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd.

Marten Transport Trading Down 0.2%

MRTN traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $13.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 647,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,989. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.64. Marten Transport has a twelve month low of $12.52 and a twelve month high of $19.26. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.24 and a beta of 1.00.

Marten Transport (NASDAQ:MRTN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The transportation company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Marten Transport had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 2.79%. The firm had revenue of $223.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $228.79 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Marten Transport will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marten Transport Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Marten Transport's payout ratio is presently 88.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marten Transport

In related news, Director Jerry M. Bauer purchased 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.88 per share, for a total transaction of $257,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 176,444 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,598.72. The trade was a 12.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marten Transport

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MRTN. Nuance Investments LLC increased its stake in Marten Transport by 63.8% during the 1st quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 5,237,442 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $71,858,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,631 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Marten Transport by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,210,598 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $57,769,000 after buying an additional 14,680 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Marten Transport by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,135,484 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $56,739,000 after purchasing an additional 63,916 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 3,155,503 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $43,294,000 after buying an additional 15,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marten Transport by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,961,073 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $26,906,000 after buying an additional 158,028 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.12% of the company's stock.

About Marten Transport

Marten Transport, Ltd. operates as a temperature-sensitive truckload carrier for shippers in the United State, Mexico, and Canada. The company operates through four segments: Truckload, Dedicated, Intermodal, and Brokerage. The Truckload segment transports food and other consumer packaged goods that require a temperature-controlled or insulated environment, as well as dry freight; and regional short-haul and medium-to-long-haul full-load transportation services.